Chapter 194 Secrets of the Central Zone
However, Han Li wasn't in a hurry! Because the central zone of this forbidden area was vastly different from the outer regions.
In the other areas outside the central zone, the spiritual herbs and rare fruits that grew within were mostly irregularly scattered, with traces of them potentially found in any corner of the area.
Generally, it was a first-come, first-served situation, and those who obtained them would immediately retreat.
So, conflicts over the outbreak of spiritual herbs in these areas were not common.
Instead, there were more conflicts due to others' cleansing actions and some people's treasure-seeking killings, resulting in more casualties.
But in the central zone, it was different!
According to previous fortunate disciples who returned, the central zone covered a large area, almost occupying more than a third of the entire forbidden area, and was surrounded by stone walls.
From the periphery of the four bronze gates, the entire area was divided into three outer layers, resembling the skin, flesh, and core of a normal fruit, with distinct layers, which was quite peculiar!
The beautiful place where Han Li was now located was the outermost layer of the central zone.
According to the information, the distance from here to the next layer was not great, probably only a little over a mile in width.
Although the flowers, plants, and trees within this range were rare and precious, they were mostly for ornamental purposes rather than having practical effects on cultivators.
Many disciples of the seven sects speculated that this layer of the area was intentionally treated as a garden by the owner of the forbidden area, and the colorful flowers and plants were originally meant for the enjoyment of the owner.
If one wanted to find something useful from it, it would be better to search in other areas of the forbidden area, which would be more reassuring!
The truly useful top-grade spiritual herbs for cultivators were mainly found in the second layer of the central zone.
Most of the disciples entering this area were aiming for this layer.
Among them were the three main ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, which were their primary targets.
Han Li was also determined to obtain these spiritual herbs!
Speaking of this second layer area, Han Li was truly stunned after reading the relevant information for a while.
Because this second layer was entirely a vast circular mountain range, perennially shrouded in dense mist. Within this mountain, there were natural spiritual places such as caves, valleys, cliffs, as well as artificial structures like stone houses and stone halls, where various spiritual herbs of heaven and earth grew.
The information exchanged between the ugly man and Han Li mainly consisted of the distribution map of these spiritual herbs' locations.
Because no one could guarantee that the existing information would definitely include the area they were in, the more distribution maps in this regard, the better, making it easier to find the right places to search for!
However, the mist on this mountain was too dense and heavy! Cultivators who entered the mountain usually lost their way in the mist after only a few steps, and could only grope forward slowly. Whether they could find their way out again depended entirely on their luck.
But what was more troubling was that there were countless demonic beasts living on the mountain, ranging from lower-level ones like Flame Rats and Wind Chasers to top-level ones like Golden Python and Ice-Fire Wolves, almost including all types of demonic beasts that the seven sects had heard of or not heard of.
The weak ones among them could be dealt with by a few cultivators of the sixth or seventh level of cultivation without any problem. However, if they encountered high-level top-tier ones, even elite disciples of the seven sects would only have to flee in embarrassment.
But fortunately, the last type of demonic beast was rare on this mountain, and most of them had become guardian beasts specifically guarding certain spiritual herbs and were not easily encountered outside!
Therefore, the majority of formidable demonic beasts were mostly at the upper level. However, when several elite disciples joined forces, they could easily deal with them. Of course, if encountered alone, a bloody battle was inevitable.
Whether it was the mist on the mountain or the demonic beasts lurking in the mountain, if one encountered either of them alone, these proud and arrogant elite disciples might still be able to try their luck and sneak into the mountain to collect herbs.
But now that both were encountered together, these disciples could only look at each other.
In this situation, entering the mountain was definitely a one-way trip!
Therefore, the first few batches of disciples who entered the forbidden area only collected ordinary spiritual herbs outside the central zone and never entered the circular mountain!
However, after several attempts, a disciple from the Concealed Moon Sect used all his wits to refine a treasure called the "Moonlight Pearl.
" This object couldn't attack or defend, but its only function was to emit a strange light that could counteract various mists and poisons, specially prepared for this trip to the forbidden area!
Indeed, the Concealed Moon Sect disciples who obtained this treasure shone brightly on their next trip to the forbidden area!
They cleared most of the mist, except for a few remaining sects, and returned from the circular mountain.
With this harvest, they refined a large number of Foundation Establishment Pills, recruited disciples widely, and made their sect's strength soar, thus establishing the Concealed Moon Sect's position as the number one cultivation sect in the country.
However, as the saying goes, there is no secret that can't be leaked! The news of the Concealed Moon Sect's great gains in the forbidden area spread. Not long after, the other six sects, unwilling to let them monopolize the resources, came knocking on their door.
Reluctant to offend everyone, but unwilling to give up the treasure, the Concealed Moon Sect, after some bargaining with the other six sects, finally handed over the pearl, making it a shared possession of the seven sects.
Then this treasure was handed over to each sect in turn. Every time they entered the forbidden area, the sect that originally possessed the treasure had to hand it over, and another sect would take over its custody.
But regardless of which sect held the treasure, when disciples of that sect entered the forbidden area, they had to use the treasure within a predetermined time under the supervision of disciples from other sects, and they must not deliberately seize the opportunity to dispel the mist ahead of time or delay.
This way, all disciples who arrived at the central zone in time could enter the circular mountain at the same time, which seemed extremely fair.
This condition seemed to have cost the Concealed Moon Sect a lot, as they had to abandon the dream of monopolizing the resources of the forbidden area. However, in fact, it also saved them from the disaster of extinction and left them with the opportunity to gradually become stronger.
Today, the Concealed Moon Sect has become the leader among the seven sects, and its strength is unfathomable! Without the other sects joining forces, it would be impossible to compete with them!
And Han Li was not anxious, because he and the ugly man in front of him had been calmly dealing with each other for quite some time, both in words and in heart, for this reason!
The seven sects had already agreed on the time to dispel the mist before they entered. It would be early morning on the third day.
Han Li had been rushing to the central zone without rest before, fearing that he might be ambushed again on the way and delay entering the mountain
. Now that he was already in the central zone, he no longer needed to be anxious! Even if he was going to the second layer now, it would just be staring blankly at the mist there!
As for the third layer at the center of the forbidden area, it was even more mysterious!
Just standing at the top of the circular mountain, one could clearly see a towering giant tower standing at the center of a large area surrounded by the second layer, with a dense green forest surrounding the tower, making it impassable.
This was the so-called third layer, the core of the forbidden area!
Upon hearing the description of this giant tower from disciples of their own sect, the experts of the seven sects immediately knew that this was the original residence of the owner of the forbidden area and were extremely eager for what was inside the tower!
However, at the boundary between the second and third layers, there was an unknown powerful restriction still in operation, blocking all disciples attempting to break into the tower from the outside.
This restriction was not something that mere Qi Condensation stage disciples could break through, but Foundation Establishment stage cultivators couldn't enter the forbidden area.
So what exactly was inside this tower remained a mystery to this day!
Han Li had no interest in the giant tower on the third layer at all! For him, being able to find enough heavenly and earthly spiritual herbs in the second layer and then leave safely would be a blessing.
After patiently dealing with the ugly man in front of him for a quarter of an hour, Han Li finally shook off the man's entanglement and disappeared into the vegetation on the side!
As he disappeared, he glanced back at the ugly man, who was still lazily lingering in place, showing no intention of leaving!
It seemed that these "experts" wouldn't stop until they got rid of the other disciples who wanted to fish in troubled waters! I reckon the other three sects must also have people doing the same thing!
As Han Li pondered, he searched around for something far from the bronze gate.
Under a towering tree, Han Li found an inconspicuous tree hole, which pleased him.
After slipping in, he did some protective measures at the entrance of the cave and then fell asleep without thinking about anything else.
Han Li needed a good rest, as who knew what would happen tomorrow when they broke through the mist on the circular mountain? He needed to restore his peak state before taking any further action.
But he believed that tomorrow, when he stood in front of the circular mountain and waited for the disciples of various sects to dispel the mist, there wouldn't be many left! And each of them wouldn't necessarily be more difficult to deal with than that Feng Yue!
This nap, Han Li slept soundly. It wasn't until the early morning of the next day that he slowly woke up.
The most important day of the forbidden area trip had finally arrived!